Methodology

How Okhantu verifies providers

We do the boring, evidence-based work of confirming that a South African SME is who they say they are — so buyers can shortlist with confidence and providers can compete on credentials, not just price. This page is the canonical, public record of how each verification tier is awarded, what evidence we collect, and how long we keep it.

How verification works

Listing on Okhantu is free and automatic. Any registered provider that meets our basic acceptance criteria appears on the marketplace at no cost. Verification is an optional, owner-requested upgrade — paid annually — that signals additional independent checks to buyers. Listing and verification are orthogonal: a verified provider and an unverified provider can both appear in the same search results, with the verified provider carrying a public badge.

  1. The provider requests a tier from their dashboard and pays the annual fee through PayFast.
  2. They upload the evidence required by that tier (CIPC, tax clearance, BBBEE certificate, insurance, references).
  3. An Okhantu reviewer checks each document against issuing-authority records. For Gold we contact two named references. For Platinum we conduct an on-site walkthrough.
  4. A decision is logged to an immutable audit trail. If approved, the badge appears within 24 hours. If rejected, the provider receives a written explanation and a refund (per our refund policy).

Tier-by-tier breakdown

Higher tiers are cumulative — Gold includes everything verified in Bronze and Silver.

Bronze

Bronze verified

R199 / year

What we verify

  • Email and contact details verified
  • CIPC company registration confirmed
  • Director name matched to ID number on record

What buyers see

“Bronze verified — registration confirmed.” Indicates the company legally exists and the contact owns the listing.

Silver

Silver verified

R599 / year

What we verify

  • Everything in Bronze
  • SARS Tax Clearance Certificate (current)
  • VAT registration where applicable

What buyers see

“Silver verified — tax compliant.” Indicates the company is in good standing with SARS at time of verification.

Gold

Gold verified

R1,299 / year

What we verify

  • Everything in Silver
  • B-BBEE certificate or sworn affidavit (EME / QSE)
  • Public liability insurance certificate (where applicable to the trade)
  • Two reachable client references contacted by Okhantu

What buyers see

“Gold verified — credentials and references checked.” Indicates we have spoken to past clients and verified BBBEE and insurance.

Platinum

Platinum verified

R2,499 / year

What we verify

  • Everything in Gold
  • On-site walkthrough of premises or active job site
  • Photographic evidence of equipment, signage, and team
  • Manual auditor review of all evidence

What buyers see

“Platinum verified — site-visited.” Indicates an Okhantu auditor has physically met the team and inspected the premises.

What buyers see

A verified provider carries a public badge on their marketplace listing, in search results, and in messaging threads. We also generate a shareable badge image — a 1200×630 PNG — which the provider can post on LinkedIn, WhatsApp, or their own website.

The QR code on every badge

Each badge image embeds a QR code that resolves to the provider's public verification record on okhantu.co.za. If a badge is screenshot, edited, or shared out of context, the QR resolves to the truth — including the current tier, expiry date, and any methodology updates. Abuse self-exposes.

Frequency of re-verification

Every tier expires 365 days after award. We send the provider a renewal reminder 30 days before expiry and again at 7 days. If they don't renew, the badge is removed automatically on the expiry date and the public verification page reverts to "previously verified" with the last-seen tier and date. Re-verification requires re-submitting current evidence — we do not roll over old certificates.

How to dispute a verification

Buyers and providers can challenge a verification outcome. If you believe a provider was incorrectly verified, or that your own verification was wrongly rejected, write to support@okhantu.co.za with the company name and a short explanation. Disputes are acknowledged within 2 business days and resolved within 10 business days. We may temporarily suspend a badge while a dispute is open.

POPIA & evidence retention

We retain verification outcomes indefinitely as a public trust signal — including the tier, the date awarded, and the date of expiry. Underlying evidence documents (CIPC registers, tax clearance certificates, BBBEE certificates, insurance certificates) are deleted within 90 days of a verification decision unless required for ongoing audit, an open dispute, or a legal hold. This aligns with POPIA's data minimisation principle: we keep the minimum necessary to maintain the trust signal, not the raw documents themselves.

Full detail of what is processed and for how long is in our Privacy Policy and PAIA Manual.

Methodology updates log

When we change what is verified, the tier criteria, or the retention rules, we log the change here. Buyers and providers can subscribe to be notified.

No updates yet — last reviewed 2026-05-10.

How verification works | Okhantu | Okhantu